Story written by John Cudmore for the Aurora Banner on www.yorkregion.com - Link to Original Story: http://www.yorkregion.com/opinion-story/5973791-cuddy-shark-new-aurora-tigers-owner-coach-bury-hatchet-after-rocky-start/

It remains to be seen how the Aurora Tigers’ shift in coaching gears works out; whether or not a fairly recent wound scabs over or becomes a bloody mess.

One thing is certain: even a few weeks ago there was no mutual admiration society between Jim Thomson, then the incoming owner of the Aurora Tigers, and Thomas Milne, the man he now entrusts as the head coach to put the Tigers back on the rails after removing Mark Joslin as head coach nearing the one-quarter mark of the season last week.

Thomson officially took over ownership of the team in the latter stages of the off-season. In short order, then-Tigers head coach James Richmond accepted a role on the coaching staff of the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads. The fate of the remaining members of the coaching staff, including Milne, never was properly addressed. That, says Thomson now, was a mistake.

Milne was less than impressed.

“I didn’t call Tom and it was disrespectful,” said Thomson. “I’ve since apologized to him. When I did call him, I offered an advisor’s role, but he turned it down.

“Tom and I didn’t see eye-to-eye and really it was from things I saw (from afar) and heard. I unfairly judged him. That’s why a lot of people are shocked, but we sorted out our differences.”

That ill-will seems to have been ironed out for now at least. In the rather smallish junior hockey world, last month’s enemy can easily become this year’s ally.

It may be a combination of Milne’s desire to get back into the game with a yearning to chase away the bitter memory of last season, when the Tigers’ season ended with a disappointing thud at the hands of the Kingston Voyageurs. Boosters will painfully recall the three-none games lead that ended with the Vees sweeping the final four games to win the series and a berth in the OJHL championship final the Tigers so desperately desired for a second straight season.

It would have made all kinds of sense to put Milne into the head coach post straightaway. He was, after all, instrumental in bringing several of the current roster members to the Tigers in the first place.

“Things were said but we met and apologized, then we met again,” confirmed Milne. “I didn’t like how it went down and thought things should have been different.

“Ten years ago, we wouldn’t be here like this. We’d be like two ostriches with our heads buried in the sand, but that comes with getting older.”

There is no telling for how long the current relationship — which includes a potentially volatile mix involving owners’ kids — can or will be able to exist. Maybe a few weeks. Perhaps a few years.

Milne, who has been around minor and junior hockey for years, missed being around the game, even though it had been only a few months since the disappointing ending to the 2015 playoffs.

“I missed the camaraderie, but it’s also about the kids,” acknowledged Milne. “You could say there is some unfinished business from the way things went last year against Kingston, but this is a new year.”

The junior hockey community is tight-knit one. Replacing Joslin, a friend, is no simple thing for Milne to undertake.

“I feel bad because Mark left (North York) to be here,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a good hockey guy, but it seems like there was a disconnect here. I told the kids if you run into him, to make sure to say ‘Hello’.”

As for the relationship with the current ownership, well, many observers aren’t yet convinced Thomson and Milne can co-exist.

It’s a relationship in the making.

Whether it is good or bad as time goes by is the burning question.